Answers Research Journal

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History and overview

Background and beliefs

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is the largest young Earth creationist (YEC) organization in the world. [2] Publications aimed at YEC scholars have existed since the mid-1960s, though these publications typically relied upon organizational membership and fee-based subscriptions. The launch of ARJ in 2008 marked the first free, open-access YEC peer-reviewed journal. [3] ARJ was created because creationists argued biology journals would not publish their research because such journals were biased "against God in favor of Darwin". [4] Most of the journal's articles are written by a small group of authors, many without academic credentials. [2] In 2012, Callie Joubert (credentials unknown) contributed to almost half of the journal's articles that year. Editor-in-chief Snelling, Joubert, and Danny Faulkner (a "young universe astronomer") contributed to 45 percent of the articles in the 2014 volume. [5] ARJ visually resembles real scientific open-access journals such as PLOS Genetics . [6] AiG founder Ken Ham forsees both Christians and non-Christians to read the journal. [7] YEC geologist Andrew Snelling serves as the journal's editor-in-chief and as the director of research at AiG. [5] According to Snelling, the journal strives to "publish the best research possible from a creationist perspective in the sciences, humanities and theology." [7] The journal's objective is not scientific inquiry. Rather, it aims to align their scholars' findings with a literal reading of the Bible. [1]

AiG biologist Georgia Purdom contends the journal starts with the viewpoint that the Bible is true whereas other journals will "start with human reasoning as the basis for truth". [7] The journal devotes itself to research on "recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework". [8] Such research is not scientifically sound. [6] ARJ espouses a YEC and literalist interpretation of the Bible, which includes beliefs such as age of the Earth is approximately 6,000 years, the Genesis flood narrative, and the rejection of macroevolution. These notions contradict mainstream science. [6] Using radioactive dating, scientists have learned the earth is around 4.5 billion years old. [7] ARJ attempts to disprove radioactive dating or demonstrate the entirety of the rock record was the result of a great flood. [9] ARJ frequently uses scientific language in an attempt to discredit scientific studies. Primarily, the journal exists to encourage readers to doubt mainstream scientific evidence. [10]

Editorial policies

ARJ's editorial board is not disclosed [11] and authors are not identified in the table of contents. [5] Authors are also able to publish under a pseudonym. [1] In order to be published in the journal, one's views must be aligned with the publisher's literalist interpretation of the Book of Genesis. Additionally, anyone working with AiG must sign a statement of faith, including a declaration reading: "No apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record." [7] As such, ARJ refuses to publish scientific works that contradict ideas within fundamentalist Christianity, [12] and the editor-in-chief may reject a paper for violating AiG’s statement of faith. [13] While the journal undergoes a peer-review process, it is subject to publication bias since the journal's reviewers are selected from a pool of individuals who "support the positions taken by the journal". [14] [15] As a result, members of the scientific community are excluded from the review process. [16] The concept of "faith-checking" is also included in the review process. [7] In the words of skeptic Steven Novella, the journal's peer-review process is "worthless" as it "serves only to give a false imprimatur of scientific legitimacy to a religious anti-scientific ideology." [17]

Notable articles

The inaugural article of the journal, written by Liberty University professor Alan Gillen, was titled "Microbes and the days of creation". [15] The article dealt with the history of microorganisms and Gillen argued they were created by God to act as "biological systems" with plants, animals, and humans. [18] (The topic of microbiology is not mentioned anywhere within biblical scripture.) Additionally, Gillen argued the origins of HIV goes back to the biblical Fall (i.e., when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden). [15]

An article written by Rod J. Martin, described only as an "independent researcher", gave a creationist interpretation of climate change. [19] According to Martin, climate change is essentially a hoax invented by "atheistic evolutionists". [20] His thesis, incorrectly, states: "There is no reason either biblically or scientifically to fear the exaggerated and misguided claims of catastrophe as a result of increasing levels of man-made carbon dioxide (CO2)." [21] A 2009 article proposes that God made oil shortly after creating the Earth and cites the biblical story of Noah's Ark as "evidence for his theory." [22]

In an attempt to disprove evolution, a 2013 article argued that humans and chimpanzees only shared 70% of DNA. While there is no objective method to determine the percent DNA similarities of two species, scientists have come up with a range of 95–98% similarity between humans and chimps (with 96% being the consensus). The study compares whole chromosomes to see how they match up instead of comparing point mutations in specific parts of the chromosomes. [23] The author of the study revised his estimate in 2015 to 88% after discovering a bug in his genome sequence algorithm. [24]

Reception

Since inception, the journal has faced criticism from scientific skeptics. [25] Biologist Paul Z. Myers refers to the journal as a "dishonest enterprise" and suggests "everything published in [ARJ] will be a crank paper". [26] Novella regards the journal as an "insidious attack on science" and should be used as "a tool for exposing creationists for what they are." [17] Describing the journal as "nonsense", philosopher Massimo Pigliucci contends the journal was created because "[creationists] seek respectability through fake museums and peer-reviewed journals because they know that the Middle Ages are over, and just shouting one's faith in a god is not going to cut it anymore." [11]

Keith Miller, a geologist and evangelical Christian, says publications like ARJ are largely ignored by the scientific community but those lacking a scientific background may not be able to differentiate ARJ from genuine scientific journals. [8] Anthropologist Eugenie Scott states ARJ is part of the "continued battle to excise science from local curricula". [8] Mocking ARJ as a "science journal", geneticist Adam Rutherford writes, "sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken", and posited the journal may be a prank. [27] While applauding the journal's use of a double-blind peer review system, an article in Discover lamented that "there won't be any actual science to evaluate." [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creationism</span> Belief that nature originated through supernatural acts

Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. In its broadest sense, creationism includes a continuum of religious views, which vary in their acceptance or rejection of scientific explanations such as evolution that describe the origin and development of natural phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation science</span> Pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism

Creation science or scientific creationism is a pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism which claims to offer scientific arguments for certain literalist and inerrantist interpretations of the Bible. It is often presented without overt faith-based language, but instead relies on reinterpreting scientific results to argue that various myths in the Book of Genesis and other select biblical passages are scientifically valid. The most commonly advanced ideas of creation science include special creation based on the Genesis creation narrative and flood geology based on the Genesis flood narrative. Creationists also claim they can disprove or reexplain a variety of scientific facts, theories and paradigms of geology, cosmology, biological evolution, archaeology, history, and linguistics using creation science. Creation science was foundational to intelligent design.

Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Proponents claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." ID is a form of creationism that lacks empirical support and offers no testable or tenable hypotheses, and is therefore not science. The leading proponents of ID are associated with the Discovery Institute, a Christian, politically conservative think tank based in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William A. Dembski</span> American mathematician and proponent of intelligent design

William Albert Dembski is an American mathematician, philosopher and theologian. He was a proponent of intelligent design (ID) pseudoscience, specifically the concept of specified complexity, and was a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture (CSC). On September 23, 2016, he officially retired from intelligent design, resigning all his "formal associations with the ID community, including [his] Discovery Institute fellowship of 20 years". A February 2021 interview in the CSC's blog Evolution News announced "his return to the intelligent design arena".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Ham</span> Australian Christian fundamentalist

Kenneth Alfred Ham is an Australian Christian fundamentalist, young Earth creationist, apologist and former science teacher, living in the United States. He is the founder, CEO, and former president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Christian apologetics organisation that operates the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Earth creationism</span> Form of creationism

Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespread version, YEC is based on the religious belief in the inerrancy of certain literal interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Its primary adherents are Christians and Jews who believe that God created the Earth in six literal days. This is in contrast with old Earth creationism (OEC), which holds literal interpretations of Genesis that are compatible with the scientifically determined ages of the Earth and universe. It is also in contrast to theistic evolution, which posits that the scientific principles of evolution, the Big Bang, abiogenesis, solar nebular theory, age of the universe, and age of Earth are compatible with a metaphorical interpretation of the Genesis creation account.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Earth creationism</span> Form of creationism

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Answers in Genesis</span> Nonprofit organization promoting young Earth creationism

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is an American fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates young Earth creationism on the basis of its literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Bible as a whole. Out of belief in biblical inerrancy, it rejects the results of scientific investigations that contradict their view of the Genesis creation narrative and instead supports pseudoscientific creation science. The organization sees evolution as incompatible with the Bible and believes anything other than the young Earth view is a compromise on the principle of biblical inerrancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rejection of evolution by religious groups</span> Religious rejection of evolution

Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups exists regarding the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and of other life. In accordance with creationism, species were once widely believed to be fixed products of divine creation, but since the mid-19th century, evolution by natural selection has been established by the scientific community as an empirical scientific fact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Creation Research</span> Creationist organization

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a creationist apologetics institute in Dallas, Texas, that specializes in media promotion of pseudoscientific creation science and interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative as a historical event. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as religious and moral truths, and espouses a Young Earth creationist worldview. It rejects evolutionary biology, which it views as a corrupting moral and social influence and threat to religious belief. The ICR was formed by Henry M. Morris in 1972 following an organizational split with the Creation Science Research Center (CSRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Research Society</span> Christian fundamentalist group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Museum</span> Museum in Kentucky promoting a pseudoscientific creationist point of view

The Creation Museum, located in Petersburg, Kentucky, United States, is a museum that promotes the pseudoscientific young Earth creationist (YEC) explanation of the origin of the universe and life on Earth based on a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative of the Bible. It is operated by the Christian creation apologetics organization Answers in Genesis (AiG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry M. Morris</span> American young Earth creationist, Christian apologist and engineer

Henry Madison Morris was an American young Earth creationist, Christian apologist and engineer. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research. He is considered by many to be "the father of modern creation science". He coauthored The Genesis Flood with John C. Whitcomb in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Sarfati</span> Australian young earth creationist and chess player

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Leonard Brand is an American biologist, paleontologist, and Seventh-day Adventist creationist. He is a professor and past chair of Loma Linda University Department of Earth and Biological Sciences. Brand's most widely debated research was regarding fossil tracks at the Grand Canyon.

Andrew A. Snelling is a young-Earth creationist geologist who works for Answers in Genesis.

Reasons to Believe (RTB) is an American nonprofit organization that promotes day-age forms of old Earth creationism. It was founded in 1986 by Hugh Ross, a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist. Former Vice-President of Research and Apologetics, Fazale Rana, was named President and CEO in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creationist museum</span> Facility that hosts exhibits to present a young Earth creationist view

A creationist museum is a facility that hosts exhibits which use the established natural history museum format to present a young Earth creationist view that the Earth and life on Earth were created some 6,000 to 10,000 years ago in six days. These facilities generally promote pseudoscientific biblical literalist creationism and contest evolutionary science. Their claims are dismissed by the scientific community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Conference on Creationism</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate</span> 2014 debate on the origins of the universe

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Goldstein, Bonnie (February 13, 2008). "Peer-Reviewing the Bible". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Trollinger, Susan L.; Trollinger, William Vance (November 20, 2023), Atherstone, Andrew; Ceri Jones, David (eds.), "Creationism", The Oxford Handbook of Christian Fundamentalism (1 ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 244, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198844594.013.14, ISBN   978-0-19-884459-4 , retrieved May 21, 2024
  3. ↑ Oberlin, Kathleen C. (December 15, 2020), "A Walk through the Creation Museum", Creating the Creation Museum, New York University Press, pp. 21–62, doi:10.18574/nyu/9781479881642.003.0002, ISBN   978-1-4798-9752-0 , retrieved May 21, 2024
  4. ↑ Dean, Cornelia (March 13, 2017). Making Sense of Science: Separating Substance from Spin. Harvard University Press. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-674-05969-6.
  5. 1 2 3 Trollinger, Susan L.; Jr, William Vance Trollinger (May 15, 2016). Righting America at the Creation Museum. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 11–12. doi:10.1353/book.47466. ISBN   978-1-4214-1953-4.
  6. 1 2 3 Marquardt, Meg M. (April 3, 2022). "Creationist Science and the Rhetorical Capacity of the Scientific Method". Rhetoric Review. 41 (2). Routledge: 130–145. doi:10.1080/07350198.2022.2038508.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Liebers, Kate (June 13, 2008). "Science for Christians". Journal of Young Investigators . ISSN   1539-4026.
  8. 1 2 3 Brumfiel, Geoff (January 2008). "Creationists launch 'science' journal". Nature . 451 (7177): 382–383. Bibcode:2008Natur.451R.382B. doi:10.1038/451382b. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   18216813.
  9. ↑ Goldsmith, David (January 10, 2023). On Solid Ground: Why the Earth Isn't as Controversial as You May Think. Prometheus Books. p. 78. ISBN   978-1-63388-831-9.
  10. ↑ Mydla, Anne (March 4, 2021). "Demanding a Verdict: Science and the Apologetics of Biblical Literalism". Świat i Słowo. 36 (1). University of Bielsko-Biała: 69. doi:10.5604/01.3001.0014.7961. ISSN   1731-3317.
  11. 1 2 Pigliucci, Massimo (2008). "Creationist Peer Review" (PDF). Skeptical Inquirer . 32 (3). Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: 19–44. ISSN   0194-6730.
  12. 1 2 Barone, Jennifer (April 11, 2008). "What Kind of Peer-Review Would Jesus Want?". Discover Magazine . ISSN   0274-7529 . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  13. ↑ Phelps, Dan (October 20, 2016). "Kentucky Gets an Ark-Shaped Second Creation "Museum"". National Center for Science Education . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  14. ↑ Rieppel, Olivier (2011), "Respectable Science: What Is It?", Evolutionary Theory and the Creation Controversy, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Nature, pp. 135–168, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14896-5_7, ISBN   978-3-642-14895-8 , retrieved May 21, 2024
  15. 1 2 3 Randerson, James (January 27, 2008). "God's journal". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  16. ↑ Minkel, J. R. (February 1, 2008). "News Bytes of the Week—Mystery Illness Strikes Bats". Scientific American . ISSN   0036-8733 . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  17. 1 2 Novella, Steven (January 24, 2008). "New Creation Research Journal". NeuroLogica Blog. New England Skeptical Society . Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  18. ↑ Keim, Brandon (January 31, 2008). "Highlights From the New Peer-Reviewed Creation Science Journal". Wired . ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  19. ↑ Gerten, Dieter; Bergmann, Sigurd, eds. (November 17, 2011). Religion in Environmental and Climate Change: Suffering, Values, Lifestyles. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 126–127. ISBN   978-1-4411-6628-9.
  20. ↑ Roller, Rachel M.; Huang, Louise Ko (March 2020). "Galileo and Global Warming: Parallels between the Geocentrism Debate and Current Evangelical Skepticism about Anthropogenic Climate Change" (PDF). Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith . 72 (1). American Scientific Affiliation: 7. ISSN   0892-2675.
  21. ↑ Plait, Phil (March 24, 2014). "This Old Earth Is Warming Up". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  22. ↑ Butler, Kiera (July 29, 2009). "Creationist Says Oil's From God". Mother Jones . ISSN   0362-8841 . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  23. ↑ Novella, Steven (January 13, 2015). "Chimp and Human DNA". NeuroLogica Blog. New England Skeptical Society . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  24. ↑ Robbins, Martin. "Why are people who reject conventional science so in love with its trappings?". Little Atoms Magazine . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  25. ↑ Zaimov, Stoyan (July 8, 2013). "Ken Ham's 'Answers Mega Conference' to Present Latest Creationism Research". Christian Post . Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  26. ↑ Myers, Paul Z. (January 10, 2008). "A new source for fake science". Pharyngula – via ScienceBlogs.
  27. ↑ Rutherford, Adam (January 18, 2008). "The creative sciences". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
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